Jeff Coltenback was born and raised in a small town in Northern, NJ. He always had a love of animals. He was involved in athletics his whole life and was captain of his High School Football and Baseball teams. He went on to play college football as a walk on and was poised to have a bright college football career. However, a drug addiction sidetracked his life plan. He got addicted to crack cocaine. He overdosed and almost died on a few occasions. Fortunately, he entered a 12 step program and has been sober since 1994. During the early stages of his recovery, he learned the valuable lesson of helping those in need. And, little did he know, his life purpose would be helping animals in need. He has been involved in dog training since the early 1990’s when he assisted in training his brother’s Pit Bull, Odin. Odin was the reason Jeff fell in love with Pit Bulls. Throughout the early and mid 1990’s Jeff was presented with many opportunities to help train and care for the dogs and pets of friends and family. In the late 1990’s he began studying more seriously to learn all he could about training dogs. As his dog training career began to materialize, so did his increasing love for Pit Bulls. Even in the 1990s, Pit Bulls were misunderstood. And, he felt the responsibility to change the public’s mind and negative view of his beloved breed.
Jeff met his wife Diana met in 1999 and her 11 month old puppy pit bull, Jake. Although, Jake was apprehensive around strange men, he accepted Jeff readily and they were best friends from the start. In fact, Jeff proposed to Jake before he did to Diana. One day, Jeff got down on one knee, gazed lovingly into Jake’s eyes and popped the question: “Jake, can I be your daddy?” Jake jumped up on Jeff’s shoulders and licked him all over. Now, Diana had no choice but to marry her dog’s new daddy. Diana and Jeff wed shortly after. While working as a computer technician, Jeff’s dog training career fully developed in 2000 and he became serious about the possibility of doing it full time. After training for a number of years now, in 2001 he began volunteering at a local shelter. At this time, he and his wife also starting fostering dogs in their home with their own money. Jeff couldn’t sit idly by and not help dogs in need. After being exposed to the plight if homeless animals, especially pit bulls, he knew what his calling in life was. He knew he needed to do everything he could to help homeless animals. He also knew Pit Bulls would be the primary focus of his life’s purpose. Early in 2002, Jeff and Diana adopted their second Pit Bull, Amber. Jeff went on to train Amber to be a pet therapy dog to further promote Pit Bulls in a positive way.
In 2003, Jeff and Diana saw a need for a healthier approach to pet care. So, they founded Paradise Pet (a holistic pet nutrition shop) in Bloomfield, NJ where they would specialize in behavior and nutrition. In 2004, they adopted their third Pit Bull, Adam. Unfortunately, Adam died a few months after being adopted by them at six years old due to Vaccinosis. One month later, they adopted their fourth Pit Bull, Bettis. Jeff’s training continued to grow and he shifted to working primarily with problem dogs – dogs that others did not choose to work with. He saw that many of these dogs just needed a chance. He also realized that most of the problems these dogs faced were human in nature. Jeff and Diana continued rescuing, rehabilitating and re-homing homeless pit bulls. Today, Jeff’s work with Pit Bulls and educating the public about their wonderful nature is stronger than ever. Jeff and his wife still operate their rescue, Pitty Rescue - www.PittyRescue.com.
Jeff and his wife relocated to NC from NJ. In addition to their own rescue efforts, they also offer a low cost Canine Enrichment Program to other 501(c)(3) rescue organizations where they help prepare dogs for new homes and help them become more adoptable. In between working with all the dogs on a daily basis, Jeff is still writing. All of his books are available on Amazon. He is constantly working on new literary works.
Jeff takes his work seriously. He was given a second chance at life. So, he makes it a point to give back every single day of his life and tries his best to give others a second chance at life as well. He is grateful that he was spared from death many years ago. That gratitude fuels his fire to do the same for others in need. In addition to Pit Bull rescue, his purpose in life is to help people and their pets.
Jeff met his wife Diana met in 1999 and her 11 month old puppy pit bull, Jake. Although, Jake was apprehensive around strange men, he accepted Jeff readily and they were best friends from the start. In fact, Jeff proposed to Jake before he did to Diana. One day, Jeff got down on one knee, gazed lovingly into Jake’s eyes and popped the question: “Jake, can I be your daddy?” Jake jumped up on Jeff’s shoulders and licked him all over. Now, Diana had no choice but to marry her dog’s new daddy. Diana and Jeff wed shortly after. While working as a computer technician, Jeff’s dog training career fully developed in 2000 and he became serious about the possibility of doing it full time. After training for a number of years now, in 2001 he began volunteering at a local shelter. At this time, he and his wife also starting fostering dogs in their home with their own money. Jeff couldn’t sit idly by and not help dogs in need. After being exposed to the plight if homeless animals, especially pit bulls, he knew what his calling in life was. He knew he needed to do everything he could to help homeless animals. He also knew Pit Bulls would be the primary focus of his life’s purpose. Early in 2002, Jeff and Diana adopted their second Pit Bull, Amber. Jeff went on to train Amber to be a pet therapy dog to further promote Pit Bulls in a positive way.
In 2003, Jeff and Diana saw a need for a healthier approach to pet care. So, they founded Paradise Pet (a holistic pet nutrition shop) in Bloomfield, NJ where they would specialize in behavior and nutrition. In 2004, they adopted their third Pit Bull, Adam. Unfortunately, Adam died a few months after being adopted by them at six years old due to Vaccinosis. One month later, they adopted their fourth Pit Bull, Bettis. Jeff’s training continued to grow and he shifted to working primarily with problem dogs – dogs that others did not choose to work with. He saw that many of these dogs just needed a chance. He also realized that most of the problems these dogs faced were human in nature. Jeff and Diana continued rescuing, rehabilitating and re-homing homeless pit bulls. Today, Jeff’s work with Pit Bulls and educating the public about their wonderful nature is stronger than ever. Jeff and his wife still operate their rescue, Pitty Rescue - www.PittyRescue.com.
Jeff and his wife relocated to NC from NJ. In addition to their own rescue efforts, they also offer a low cost Canine Enrichment Program to other 501(c)(3) rescue organizations where they help prepare dogs for new homes and help them become more adoptable. In between working with all the dogs on a daily basis, Jeff is still writing. All of his books are available on Amazon. He is constantly working on new literary works.
Jeff takes his work seriously. He was given a second chance at life. So, he makes it a point to give back every single day of his life and tries his best to give others a second chance at life as well. He is grateful that he was spared from death many years ago. That gratitude fuels his fire to do the same for others in need. In addition to Pit Bull rescue, his purpose in life is to help people and their pets.
Jeff's CV and Experience
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